The Serum
by ThePenIsMighterThanTheSword94
Summary: Skye was kidnapped by the insane Doctor Silensky a year ago and forced to participate in his experiment, now things are mostly back to normal. Mostly. She thinks that the serum she was given is still having an affect on her and she's not sure what to do. Then Silensky escapes from prison and she's terrified he'll come after her. CoulSkye
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I was previously DarkMoonFairy94 when I was writing this story but I forgot about it until a couple days ago. I tried to log on to finish The Serum and realized I couldn't remember my old email address. So I have created a new account to finish this story. Enjoy!**

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><p>"Ahhh!" Fitz screamed, only to have a hand clamp down on his mouth.<p>

"Quiet," Agent Ward hissed.

With a shaky finger, Fitz pointed at the charred corpse several yards ahead of him. Grant let go of him and swore softly.

"Talk to me, Ward," Coulson's voice came over the ear piece both agents wore.

"There's a charbroiled body out here, not sure who it was."

There was a moment of silence on the other end and then the senior agent said, "Get in there and find Skye. Backup is on the way, their ETA is in five minutes."

"Will do," Ward promised. "C'mon, Simmons."

"I'm Fitz, Jemma's Simmons."

Ward didn't bother to respond, opting instead to pick him up by the collar and dragged him toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. Compound. Crouching low, both men hurried to the steel-plated door and Fitz stared at the key pad with a look of concentration.

"I need a number and alphabet sequence to open the door," Fitz said. "There are numerous combinations I could try but I might set off an alarm." He started digging through his bag of tools. "I could use the E.L.F. to find the right combination."

With an annoyed look, Ward pressed a finger to his ear. "We need the combination."

"Zero, Niner, Charlie, Tango, Victor, Eight, Foxtrot," came Coulson's deadpan, but pleasant voice over the earpiece.

"What?" Fitz asked.

With a sigh, Ward punched in the correct sequence and the door slid open with a quiet hiss. "Let's go."

Fitz looked somewhat forlornly at the E.L.F., then stuffed it back into his bag before following the field agent. How Agent Ward knew where he was going, Fitz didn't know. All he knew was that he was completely lost as they went down one empty corridor after another with Ward occasionally flattening himself against the wall and checking furtively around the corners.

He couldn't help thinking he was in the middle of a rather bad James Bond film. He let himself smile as he thought of what Jemma would say if she were here. She would be making fun of Ward and doing that delightful imitation of him. It was a game he, Jemma, and Skye liked to play whenever Ward was especially being bothersome.

Fitz gulped. Right, Skye, focus on her.

They came across another door with a number and alphabet sequence and he was secretly happy that Agent Coulson didn't know the code because he was able to use his E.L.F for the first time. After all, if he didn't do anything other than follow Ward around what good was he on this mission?

The door slid open and they were greeted with the sight of Doctor Silensky standing over an unconscious Skye with a needle pressed to her neck.

"Drop it," Ward ordered in his best menacing voice.

A panicked look spread across Doctor Silensky's face and he pressed the plunger. Fitz watched with fascinated horror as the dark substance drained into her neck.

A gunshot went off, startling him. The doctor stumbled backward, dropping the needle as he stared in astonishment at the bright red spot seeping through his white lab coat.

"Fitz!" Ward growled as he kept his gun trained on the doctor.

"On it," he rushed over to Skye and checked her pulse. "She's still alive."

"What did you inject her with?" Ward demanded.

The doctor sat on the floor abruptly and began to laugh. "You're too late!"

Ward moved closer. "What did you inject her with? Tell me or I'll-"

"You'll what?" the doctor taunted. "Torture me? I have created a masterpiece. No one can stop me!" he gave another maniacal laugh.

Ward dropped on one knee and used his gun to dig into Doctor Silensky's wounded shoulder. The doctor gave out a low scream at the pain and clenched his teeth together. "The antidote, now!"

"I never made one," he confessed.

Ward made a sound in the back of his throat that resembled a Bob Cat, but before he could wring out anymore answers, the backup arrived and swarmed the place.

Skye was taken back to The Bus to be monitored and Doctor Silensky was cuffed and taken to a secure location.

Fitz and Ward silently prayed that their friend would be all right.

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><p>Skye woke up to find herself alone in her room. Her head felt like a van had hit her head on and her mouth tasted of cotton. She hadn't felt this bad since she had gotten drunk at that Halloween party a friend of hers had invited her to.<p>

With a groan she sat up, stomach roiling nauseously. Her chest ached too, though not the usual kind of ache you get when you have a chest cold. She felt like there was something missing, something she needed to find.

A knock at the door broke her from her musing. Wincing, at the loud noise Skye put her head in her hands and told the person to come in.

"Skye," came the familiar voice of AC. "Are you all right?"

For some reason her heart skipped a beat when she heard him. Looking up, Skye stared at him mesmerized. It dawned on her that he had been what was missing. She felt like her entire chest was going to explode if she didn't act now!

"Skye?" he asked again when she didn't answer him.

She jumped to her feet and pushed him against the wall. A startled look crossed the agent's face. "AC." she breathed and kissed him passionately. He didn't kiss her back, but that was all right because she was sure he would come around eventually.

Skye pried his lips open and stuck her tongue in his mouth, savoring the taste that was uniquely him with a hint of the coffee he drank that morning.

Coulson shook off his shock and pushed her away. "Skye!" he protested and then she was on him again pressing her lips urgently to his. She had an almost animalistic quality to her forcefulness and he wonder what the hell the doctor had done to her.

He jerked his head away and she immediately began nibbling on his neck. He tried pushing her away again, but she was ready for him and fought back, her lips hardly leaving his skin.

"Agent Ward!" he finally screamed. He heard pounding feet heading their way. Skye grabbed his head and began kissing him again, shoving her tongue down his throat. Under normal circumstances he would have been flattered at her attention, but this was definitely not normal circumstances.

Ward came into the room and made a choking sound. Coulson tried to signal with his eyes that he needed assistance. Thankfully, he understood the message and together they managed to pry Skye off him and pinned her to the bed.

"What the hell did he do to her?" Ward asked.

"I was wondering the same thing." Skye's eyes were on him and she whimpered pathetically. "FitzSimmons!" Coulson yelled. "Get a sedative." He didn't know if they would be able to hear him if they were in their lab already.

Several seconds later they came in with May in tow.

Skye broke free from them and threw herself at Coulson. They rolled around on the floor, her mouth seeking his. Ward and May grabbed her arms and pushed her to the floor and Coulson grabbed her legs.

"No!" she screamed. "Please!" She stared at him pathetically.

"FitzSimmons," he said, looking away from her.

While Fitz sat on her stomach, Simmons prepped the needle, then inserted the end into her arm. Skye thrashed around madly for a few seconds before the sedative kicked in and she slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"Well," Coulson said, standing up to straighten his suit and tie. "I think it would be best if we strapped her down until we find out exactly what Doctor Silensky did to her." With a slight smile to reassure the team that everything would be fine, he walked out of the room toward his office to report to Director Fury what had happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**One Year Later**

_Seriously, does he sleep in his suits? It wouldn't kill him to wear jeans every once in awhile. Hmm, him in jeans that would be - no! Stop it Skye._

With a shake of her head, Skye tried to dismiss that thought. A year ago she had been kidnapped by a doctor, turned mad scientist, and injected with a serum that S.H.I.E.L.D. was still trying to analyze. As near as they could figure, it was some kind of lust serum that caused her to go ballistic over AC because he was the first person she saw after she woke up.

They weren't sure what it was for, though they suspected that if Grant and Fitz hadn't found her in time, she might have lusted after that creep. Though why he wanted her to, she didn't know. It wasn't like she knew him from Adam.

Unfortunately, Doctor Silensky wasn't talking and eventually the investigation was dropped.

In spite of being assured that the serum was no longer in her blood stream, she still couldn't help the thoughts she sometimes had about her boss. Her face heated up as she remembered how they had avoided each other as much as possible after the incident. Eventually, they were able to get over it and slowly rebuilt their friendship, which was why Skye had no intentions of telling anyone that she still had feelings for him. At least she was able to control herself and was sure that someday they would go away entirely.

The door to the SUV opened and the man himself stuck his head in. "Time to go, Skye."

"Sure thing, AC," she said brightly.

The corner of his mouth lifted causing her heart to flutter. _Stop that! _she sternly scolded herself.

To distract herself, she slowly reached for the bag at her feet, telling her nerves to get their act together, then hopped out of the SUV next to Coulson. Skye felt this overwhelming urge to touch him and very nearly did, but she managed to make a fist in time and punched him on the arm.

He barely reacted and just smiled in that slightly vague way that he always does. "What was that for?"

Skye willed herself not to blush. "For interrupting my 'me time' before I was ready."

"You knew that we were leaving soon," he said as he walked away toward Lola. As he walked past her he let his fingers brush against the hood reverently. Skye had to fight down the green monster of jealousy.

Seriously, you're jealous of a car?

Still, she couldn't help wishing she were that car at the moment. _Get a grip girl!_

Giving herself a mental shake, she joined the rest of the team as they gathered around the tail section of The Bus and watched the ramp slowly descend to the ground. "Remember everything I taught you and stay close beside me," Grant told her.

She barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't like she didn't know the drill or that he hadn't told her the exact same thing every time they stepped off the plane. She had noticed how protective everyone had been over her since she had been kidnapped and Skye was grateful for that, but some days she felt like they were smothering her. Her kidnapping had been a freaking year ago!

Composing her face into what she thought was a passive one, she answered him. "Okay." She didn't think she had succeeded though when she noticed May give her a sideways glance. At least Skye never had to worry about her being all protective. That just wasn't the Asian woman's style.

Next to her Fitz and Simmons were jabbering on excitedly about their equipment when they discovered they had left something behind in their lab. Fitz dashed over to the lab and came back again with something that resembled a keypad with red and yellow wires sticking out of it. Whatever it was, Skye itched to get her fingers on it.

"Let's load up, people!" Grant announced to the group.

They piled into the SUV waiting for them outside the plane. Unfortunately, the SUV Skye had been sitting in was going to be towed away while they were gone. It had seen some action on their last mission and had several bullet holes in it. She was going to miss it and only hoped that the replacement would have the same comforting smell.

She found herself sitting right behind AC and was secretly glad for that fact. If she and Grant were to switch seats, Skye would have a clearer view of him and the last thing she needed was someone to catch her ogling him.

As it was she was a little suspicious that May already knew what she was thinking half the time. Speaking of which, the woman made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror, then focused back on the road. Honestly, that woman was so quiet she was almost creepy.

Grant turned in his seat to look at the two scientists in the back. "Are you sure you two have everything? Because we are not turning around."

"I think we have everything, do you think we have everything, Jemma."

"I believe so. We'll let you know if we've forgotten anything."

"We're not turning back," Coulson interjected.

"But what if it's really important?" Fitz asked.

With a roll of her eyes, May started the car and stepped lightly on the gas pedal. Coulson turned around and smiled at the scientists. "Make sure it's not important." His eyes swept toward Grant and lastly landed on Skye.

Ignoring the fluttering of her heart, Skye held up her trusty bag. "Don't worry, AC. I've got everything. I even have my dog leash on," she referred to the bracelet S.H.I.E.L.D. made her wear after she violated their trust.

That had happened a few weeks before she had been kidnapped. It was the tracker in the bracelet that had allowed them to find her so quickly. She still wore it because S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't trust her, but the rest of the team had gradually come to accept her again.

AC didn't seem to find the last bit funny and sat back in his seat without a word. Skye knew he had been trying to convince the higher ups to remove her bracelet, but so far he had no luck.

To distract herself from her melancholy thoughts, she turned to Grant. "So, don't you think it's strange that an alien artifact was found in New Mexico?"

Grant gave her a puzzled look. "Why would it be strange?"

Skye made a face at him. "Really? Alien activity, Roswell, Area 51, ring any bells?"

Her mentor snorted. "That's just a myth people like the Rising Tide made up to whip others into a frenzy."

"Says the guy who is going there to apprehend an alien artifact."

Grant either didn't know what to say to that or decided it would be better not to argue with her. Well, she wasn't going to let him get off that easy.

"C'mon, you haven't even thought about it? Fitz, Simmons, what do you think?"

"Well, I -" began Fitz.

"I suppose -" Jemma started to say.

Neither of them were able to finish what they were going to say because the front of the SUV suddenly exploded and the car flipped over. Skye cracked her head on the window and it shattered, raining glass all over her.

* * *

><p>It could have been a few seconds or a few minutes later, when she regained consciousness. She tried to sit up straight and realized she was hanging upside down, strapped to the seat by the seat belt.<p>

Skye turned her head and winced at the throbbing coming from her temple. She fingers probed where it hurt and came back coated with blood. The sight of it made her nauseous, so she decided to see how the others were.

Grant lay below her on what would be the roof of the car if it weren't upside down. The thought made her giddy and Skye wondered if she had a concussion. She couldn't crane her neck far enough to see if Fitz and Simmons were all right. May was hanging upside down like her, unconscious and AC looked to be fairing the same way.

Skye unclipped her seat belt and tumbled onto Grant. He groaned, but didn't open his eyes. She needed to call for help. Didn't AC keep a phone in his pocket?

Slowly, she crawled out of the broken window and laid on the warm pavement for a few moments as the world began to spin. How had she never noticed that before?

There was movement coming from the car, so she assumed the others were starting to come around. Then she heard another sound. The sound of screeching tires. It came closer and then stopped right in front of her.

Hoping that it was a concerned passerby coming to see if there were any survivors, Skye looked up just as the door to the dark Sedan opened and looked into her worst nightmare. Her heart stopped, her mouth went dry, and she began to shake uncontrollably. "No," she whimpered.

Doctor Silensky's mouth turned up into a wide grin. "Skye," he started to say when Grant dove out of the broken window of the SUV and fired his gun. The bullet tore through the doctor's left shoulder and he howled in rage and pain, then jumped back into the Sedan and it raced off, tires leaving a mark in the road.

"Are you all right?" Grant asked, looking her over with concern.

"I -" Skye's head slumped forward and she mercifully blanked out.


	3. Chapter 3

Skye tripped and tumbled to the ground, landing on her funny bone. And it wasn't funny. She glared at Grant as he folded his arms across his chest, muscles in his arms fairly bulging. "Again," he said.

"Can't we take a break?" she complained. "I have bruises in parts that I didn't even know existed."

"No, you have to be in top shape just in case."

Yes, just in case that maniac came after her again. It had been two days since the crash and two days since she had seen the crazed doctor. If she had thought that her team had been a little protective of her before, they were now downright smothering. She couldn't go anywhere by herself. Seriously, she even had an escort to the bathroom. Like he could find a way in there.

On top of that, Grant insisted that her self-defense lessons be extended to another hour. It was grueling work as he tried to cram a life time of combat experience into a few days.

"Please, a half hour, that's all I'm asking." She put on her best puppy dog face and clasped her hands together in front of her.

To her surprise, he caved. "A half hour. I need to talk to Agent Coulson anyway."

She visibly brightened. "Good, I haven't bothered AC since this morning."

"I'm talking to him alone, you are going to spend some time with FitzSimmons in the lab."

"Why don't you just send me to my room?" she grumbled as she took off the bandages he always made her wear when she was boxing.

Grant sighed, "Skye -"

"I know, I know. You all are trying to protect me."

"We don't - it's just -"

Deciding to give her CO a break she said, "I'm grateful for the extra protection." She took a deep breath before plunging on. "I'm scared too, but I don't think he'll be able to get on the plane."

Grant reached over and awkwardly squeezed her shoulder. "Not on my watch he won't," he vowed.

Skye's lips quirked. "Thanks."

Suddenly the caring young man was gone, replaced by tough, slightly overbearing Agent Ward. "Let's go." He escorted her to the Lab doors and headed up the spiraling staircase at a rapid pace. Skye was contemplating making a dash for her room and getting some much needed alone time when Simmons spotted her and began gesturing and talking at a fast pace.

"Skye! We could really use your help. This computer has gone round the bend and even Fitz can't determine what is wrong with it."

The mention of a computer needing fixing got her out of her flunk and she eagerly stepped inside to take a look at the parts Fitz had strewn all over the table.

* * *

><p>Sometime later, after she and Fitz had been able to assemble the computer back together, the two scientists began to argue and Skye took that opportunity to slip out of the Lab. She really needed some alone time and she knew of only of one place to get it.<p>

Soon, she was in the back of the SUV messing around on her computer, enjoying the absolute stillness. It was really nice to be alone again.

After checking out what The Rising Tide was up to and tweeting back a few replies to people around the world, she shut off her computer and just laid back, thinking. It was funny, when she had been monitoring The Rising Tide's movements she hadn't felt as excited or connected as she usually did. In fact, she had subconsciously been thinking about what she should report to AC.

Maybe it was because of that whole incident with Miles or maybe it was something else. She still believed that information should be free and distributed to the public, but maybe in slower segments rather than dumping it all on them at once. If that even made any sense. Skye thumped her head on the back of the seat in frustration.

A knock on the window caused her to look up and saw the profile of AC. He opened the door. "Mind if I come in?"

"If I said no would you go away?"

Agent Coulson just smiled at that and after a few seconds slid into the seat next to hers, closing the door behind him. For awhile they sat in silence. Skye closed her eyes and tried to relax, but that was nearly impossible with AC being so near.

Well, if he wasn't going to start the conversation, then she would. "Is it your turn to baby sit me?"

AC turned to face her. "No."

She waited for him to say something else, but he seemed in no hurry. "Are we just going to sit here quietly?"

The smile was back. "Could you even manage that?"

She felt the urge to punch him or kiss him and had to really restrain herself from doing both. "Are we going to play twenty questions?"

"If that's what you want," he answered agreeably. With a huff she turned away from him and crossed her arms like a petulant child, determined she wasn't going to say anymore until he did.

At first she remained tense until her muscles started to ache, so she slowly began to relax each part of he body. First came the legs, the torso, arms, and lastly her head. Almost forgetting about the agent sitting next to her she began to daydream, letting her mind wander wherever it wanted to.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there when she was startled out of her thoughts by a hand brushing her hair out of her face. Skye turned her head to look at Coulson. He was staring at her and his smile was different. It was less distant, more warmer and softer. It was like she was seeing a completely different AC than the one she knew.

"I know we've been stifling you lately, Skye, but we are all worried about you."

"I know," she said softly.

"We would all do everything in our power to keep our team safe."

"I know," Skye repeated. Her heart was thumping so loudly she was surprised he couldn't hear it. Or maybe he did hear it and was too gentlemanly to point it out. Wait, was she going into cardiac arrest? Maybe he could do CPR on her. No! bad thought, bad thought! Anyway, why would he give her CPR if she were having a heart attack? Make sense brain!

She yearned for him to touch her again. Her cheek was still pleasantly tingling. _No, no, no! Stop it Skye! He only thinks of you as a daughter. _Hell, she was young enough to be his daughter. That thought should be grossing her out, but it didn't.

"When we're on the ground we will still keep you safe, but I think its okay if we let our security lax a bit while we're on the plane," AC was saying.

"Does this mean I get to sleep alone again?" Skye wondered.

"I don't know, Simmons is very excited to have a roommate."

"It's not Simmons I'm worried about. Have you ever tried sleeping with May? It's very creepy." _You better not have ever slept with her. _Whoa, that thought was a little possessive.

AC chuckled, causing Skye to stare at him in wonder. He really should laugh more often. "I imagine it would be a little disconcerting."

"A little? It is very, very creepy. Did you know that she sleeps with her eyes open?" Skye was hoping for another chuckle, but she was willing to settle on the broad smile AC gave her.

"I suppose we could all go back to our previous room arrangements."

"Thank goodness." _All though you could sneak into my room anytime. _Seriously, why couldn't she sensor her thoughts?

AC reached over and patted her hand. "I'll let you have your 'me time' now." He opened the car door and stepped out.

"AC?"

He turned to look back at her.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." He shut the door and she watched him walk up the stairs, back to his office no doubt. Skye leaned her head back on the seat and smiled, content for the first time in several days.


	4. Chapter 4

_Jab, jab, jab, jab. Right hand, left hand, jab, jab, jab._

"Don't hit the bag in a pattern," Grant admonished. "If you did that out in the field you would already be dead." He strode over to the punching bag to stand next to Skye. "What you need to do is change it up, never go for the obvious places and never fall into a pattern."

Skye had learned a long time ago to just stand there and nod. If she said something smart he would just begin the lecture all over again.

"Observe me," Grant's body became taunt and he protected his face with his fists as he stared the bag down. Skye had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing. He looked so serious.

As Grant began a series of hits and sometimes kicking, Skye took the opportunity to check out what was going on in the lab. Jemma was waving her arms excitedly and talking in a very animated manner while her partner in crime, Leo, looked like his lunch wanted to vacate the premises.

She wondered what they were doing and wished this lesson was over already. While it was exciting to learn about defending herself, it became boring after they started pushing two hours long.

There was no sign of May or Coulson. Not that, that wasn't unusual. May was probably in the cockpit and the other in his office where he spent most of his days. She was beginning to run out of excuses to see him. Would it kill the guy to interact with his own team when they were not on a mission? She kept thinking about the way he had brushed her hair out of her face and wondered if it had meant something. More than likely it had been a fatherly gesture and she was taking the small action way out of proportion.

Grant took a step back and breathed deeply through his nose. "Do something like that," he said.

"Do I have to do what you did exactly?"

He gave her a look. "Weren't you paying attention. I said not to fall into a pattern. Do whatever you want, just become creative."

"Creative, huh? I can do that," she gave him a cheeky grin. She could tell he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her. That or not wrap his hands around her neck and strangle her.

"Or you could just incapacitate a man with three moves," May said behind them.

Skye nearly jumped out of her skin. When had she shown up? "How do you do that?" She asked once her heart rate and had gone down.

"Observe." May stepped forward, looking at the punching bag, then suddenly whirled on her feet and punched Grant in the kidneys. He grunted, staggering back, surprised by the blow.

The Asian woman did not let him catch his breath before following him and hitting him in the sternum, immediately following it with a chop to the neck. Grant collapsed on his knees, trying to force air into his bruised windpipe.

"That was so cool!"

May gave a slight nod with her head. "We're to meet in the briefing room." With that she gracefully walked out of the room, leaving Skye alone with her very angry S.O.

She smiled at him nervously. "You have to admit that was some sweet moves."

"Oh, yes, it was lots of fun being incapacitated by the Calvary. I can now cross that of my 'Must Do Before I Die' list."

Skye hid her smile with her hand.

Grant sighed. "Let's go." She followed him out of the room watching as he massaged his throat.

They were the last to arrive in the briefing room, the room Skye had secretly dubbed as the Room of Awesomeness. It was where she could hack into just about anyplace in the world with a super sweet piece of Stark technology that didn't even deserve to be called a computer.

AC was leaning over the console studying something on the screen. When Skye moved behind him to see what he was looking at, she came face to face with Doctor Silensky's profile. In spite of herself, she flinched as she stared into his wild blue eyes.

Coulson moved over to allow room for her. "We have yet been unable to locate the doctor, though S.H.I.E.L.D. is confident that he will resurface eventually."

"Yeah, to try to abduct Skye again," Grant growled. He was still unhappy about Coulson's decision to let her have her freedom back while on the plane.

"Hey, I can take care of myself," Skye interjected. "I think I have this fighting thing down pack. I could beat the crap out of him with both hands tied behind my back, blindfolded with, err, alligators chasing me.

Simmons giggled before controlling herself and hiding her smile behind her hand. Even AC looked amused. In fact, the only ones who didn't find it funny was May and Grant, but the former wasn't surprising since she didn't find much of anything funny.

"See what I mean?" Grant said. "She's not ready."

"She's fine as long as she stays on The Bus with us."

"Yeah, and she's still here," Skye huffed. "And feeling really unappreciated since everyone's talking about her like she's not here. Great, now I'm starting to do it."

"Skye's safety is not why I called this meeting," AC said. "We never did retrieve that alien artifact from New Mexico. In all the excitement it was put on hold, but now we need to get it. S.H.I.E.L.D. has reason to believe that some rather unsavory characters are after it and we have to get to it first. Because of the threat to Skye only some of us will be going."

"What?" Skye cried out in outrage. "Why am I being punished because of a nut job who's after me for some reason?"

"It's not a punishment," Coulson tried to calm her. "We're taking precautions, that's all. We are not entirely sure who we'll be up against in New Mexico, so it would be difficult to divide our time between the mission and keeping an eye on you."

"Didn't you hear me? I can take care of myself!"

"I'm sure you can. All the same, I would rather be safe. Myself and Simmons will stay behind with Skye while the rest of you will go to New Mexico on your own."

"Are you sure that's wise, sir?" Grant asked. "Perhaps me or May should stay."

"No, the situation sounds dire out there and you may need both of your expertise to make it in one piece. I think Simmons and I can handle it."

"I don't know much about fighting or guns, but I will help protect Skye."

Grant didn't look convinced. And frankly neither was Skye.

"Seriously, this is a big waste of time. We all could go."

"The decision is final," with that Coulson walked out of the room.

"I guess that's, that then. C'mon, Fitz, load up. We leave in 1300."

"Wouldn't it be better to leave in an hour from now?" he asked as he followed the agent out of the room.

Skye heard Grant sigh. 1300 is an hour from now, Fitz." She didn't hear if the scientist responded.

"I should probably help him pack," Simmons said. "He always seems to forget something.

When it was just May and Skye left, she crossed her arms in defiance. "Can't you change his mind?"

May shook her head. "No, he's a stubborn son of a bitch."

Skye made an angry noise.

"Think of it this way," May said slyly as she headed for the doorway. "You'll get some quality time with Coulson."

Skye tried to will herself not to blush, only to epically fail. "I-I d-don't know what you mean."

"Uh huh," was all she said before disappearing.


	5. Chapter 5

Skye watched as May drove off in the Short Bus with Ward and Fitz. She had tried to convince her S.O. to smuggle her into the back and he had been more than willing, but AC had nipped that in the bud real quick.

"It's for your own good, Skye," his quiet voice said behind her.

"So you keep telling me," she muttered.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off. Skye didn't care how attractive she found him, at the moment he was Enemy Number One. Coulson sighed. "Skye-"

"Is this how its going to be from now on?" she turned to look at him. "Am I going to stay on this stupid plane for the rest of my life while everyone else gets to do all the fun stuff?"

"Only until the danger is over."

"You mean until another danger presents itself and you put me on lockdown again? I can take care of myself!"

Skye watched as his facial expression went from pleasant to I'm-getting-seriously-annoyed-with-you-Skye. "That's enough. My decision is final."

There was so much anger in her chest that she felt like she was going to explode if she didn't get it all out. "Why don't you just lock me in my room!"

Coulson just stared at her for a few seconds before turning on his heel and walked away.

"Yeah, that's right just walk away!" she yelled after him.

"Skye!" Simmons hissed. She had been standing there quietly watching the exchange and found herself dumbfounded by the hacktavist's attitude.

"What?" Skye growled. When she turned to Simmons she saw the scared look in her eyes and immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just tired. I think I'm going to go lay down."

Simmons nodded. "Yeah, I should get back to the lab."

"Are you going to be okay without Fitz?" Skye suddenly asked, feeling like an ass for not thinking about her sooner. She had been so wrapped up in her anger towards Coulson - huh, that was funny. She no longer felt angry.

"I'll be fine," Simmons tried to smile brightly. "He survived the last time, I'm sure he'll all right. After all he does have Super Spy Agent Ward and The Calvary." The running joke that was between the younger teammates fell flat, but Skye tried to salvage it.

"Yeah, because -" She struck a ridiculous pose. "I'm Super Spy Agent Ward and I can kick butt." Then she immediately shifted her pose to look cool and totally badass Asian. "Oh, please you wouldn't know difference between the front or backend of a rhinoceros, I'm the one with kick butt skills."

Even though it was totally lame, Simmons giggled and Skye felt better for having successfully distracting the biochemist. Suddenly, she felt eyes on her and looked up to see AC staring down at her from the second landing. As their eyes made contact, he smiled and Skye got that warm feeling in her chest.

Seriously, how could she go from being mad at him to absolutely adoring him in the space of a few minutes?

* * *

><p>For the next two days, Skye spent most of her time with Jemma, assisting her with her research and generally trying to distract the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from worrying about her partner.<p>

Coulson spent most of his time in his office, occasionally coming out to eat or check on the girls, which irritated Skye to no end. She didn't understand herself. Why should she care that he was always in his office and not spending time with her? Why should she care if AC took Simmons to the side to ask how she was doing and not her?

The emotional whiplashes Skye kept experiencing regarding the man were really annoying her. Her simple crush was starting to consume her until all she ever seemed to think about was the stoic agent; going from being angry at him for the stupidest reasons to falling in love with him all over again.

She began to wonder if something was seriously wrong with her, but Skye tried to bottle up the emotions and pretend everything was normal for everyone's sake._ It's just a crush_, she kept repeating to herself. _It'll past_.

At least Jemma and AC seemed oblivious to her inner turmoil.

On the second day, Jemma was feeling so depressed that Skye declared that that night was game night and roped AC into helping her cheer the biochemist up. It amazed her how much faster they could get through games without Grant and Fitz and that Jemma really was too good at games.

They played Scrabble, which she skunked them at as usual, then moved on to Charades. It was loads of fun watching AC as he tried to describe a plane flying in the air and both Skye and Simmons pretended to not know what he was doing until his time was nearly out and they finally laughing guessed the right answer.

They played a few more games until Jemma begged to be excused so she could go to bed. They worked together to clean the living area and then Skye sat down on the couch, idly flipping through a gun magazine that Grant had left behind. She wasn't tired and figured she would kickback and relax and have some personal time, but to her surprise Coulson lingered by the door before eventually crossing the room to sit next to her.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure? You've been a little edgy lately."

_Oh I'm fine, _she thought. _Just a little preoccupied with thoughts about you, the rest of the team, and oh yeah, I definitely think I have some issues regarding my feeling toward you since I can't seem to make up my mind whether or not I like you or hate you._

"Just worried about Ward, Fitz, and May and wishing I could be there to help them."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I've just been worried about you and trying to do the right thing. Tell you what, next time there is an assignment we'll all go together."

"Even if there's a threat against one of us?"

"Even then. I think if we do meet Silensky again you'll be able to take care of yourself. Just remember we will always be there for you, Skye, and we won't let anyone hurt you."

Skye couldn't help herself. She flung her arms around AC and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

Coulson ran a hand through her hair and chuckled. "You're welcome." Then he pulled away slightly frowning and placed his wrist on her forehead. "Are you all right? You feel warm."

Now that he mentioned it, she did feel strange. She felt hot, like she had a fever and there were chills coursing through her body. Also, she suddenly felt light-headed. Skye placed her head on his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut. "Whoa, must be a sugar rush from all the candy I just ate."

Although she didn't think so. Since her face was buried in Coulson's neck she could smell his aftershave on him and the smell was giving her a heady sensation. The feeling was similar to the time she had been under the influence of Silensky's drug.

All thoughts shut down, except one. She had to get closer to Coulson. Without really thinking about what she was doing, Skye climbed into his lap, straddling him. She watched as a panicked look crossed his face.

"Skye," he said in a strained voice. "What are you doing?"

She laughed softly. "I think that would be obvious." Skye leaned over and kissed him lightly on the mouth. He sat there stunned, lips slightly parted and she decided to take advantage of that and kissed him again harder. She let her tongue trace his lips and they invitingly open wider.

Her tongue surged into his mouth and she mapped out every bump and ridge with enthusiasm. Someone groaned though she wasn't sure who did it. Suddenly, AC was kissing her back and her heart practically leapt out of her chest.

They were doing it, she was finally doing something she had been wanting to do again for an entire year!

AC pushed her tongue back in her mouth and explored it slowly. She groaned, loving the sensations. Skye tried to get his hands to move or do something but they stubbornly remained planted on her waist. She keened in his mouth, greedily wanting more.

Next thing she knew he had pushed her down on the couch, but before she could truly enjoy the feel of his body pressed against hers, AC pulled away taking something similar to a pen out of his suit pocket.

She was about to ask him what that was for when he jammed it into her neck. Her back arched as she felt a slight shock and then with horror she realized she couldn't move.

Coulson got off Skye and sat on the edge of the couch, stroking her hair gently out of her face. "I'm sorry I had to do that," he apologized. He held up the pen. "This temporarily paralyzes someone for about ten minutes. It was the only thing I could think of that would get you to stop. I've been carrying it around since, well, the last time you attacked me."

He placed his hand on her forehead, frowning. "You may not remember this, but last time you assaulted me you felt like you were running a high fever just as you are now. I think it's in both of our best interests if I lock you in the interrogation room until Simmons and I can figure out what's wrong with you."

Coulson leaned over her and placed a reverent kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry, Skye. We'll get to the bottom of this."

If Skye could, she would have sobbed and yelled that there was nothing wrong with her. Unfortunately, all she could do was stare at him and blink.


	6. Chapter 6

Skye paced the floor in their panic room occasionally muttering darkly under her breath and shooting a dirty look at the camera in the corner. For the last hour she had yelled at the camera begging and pleading for Coulson to let her go. Now, she was just angry and her throat hurt. Whenever he finally decided to show up she was going to give him a piece of her mind.

At that moment she heard a noise on the other side of the door and stopped pacing. The door swung open and Coulson stepped cautiously into the room carrying a plate of food and a water bottle. He was wearing a suit as usual, but this time he wore no tie and had the top button of his shirt undone. He smiled at Skye. "I thought you could use something to eat."

Skye barely had time to think about her next action before she had leaped across the room and pushed the older agent against the wall, choking him. The sound of a plate smashing into pieces hardly affected her. Her entire focus was narrowed down to her hand on Coulson's neck.

"Skye -" he tried to say something and she squeezed harder. He tried ineffectually to pry her fingers off his throat, gurgling sounds coming from him. Skye felt satisfaction at the sound.

"Let go of him!" Jemma's voice rang out behind her. Skye turned to see that the scientist was holding a gun, her hands shaking unsteadily. "Skye please."

Horror filled her as she realized that she was choking the life out of AC. Skye abruptly let go and stumbled backward, a hand on her mouth. "I'm so sorry."

Coulson touched his throat and rasped out, "It's all right."

Skye sank to the bed, her hands trembling. She curled them into fists. She could still feel traces of anger toward the man and that just plain scared her. She fought the urge to cross the room again and punch him the face. "What's happening to me?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Coulson walked cautiously toward her and gingerly sat next to her. Skye shrank away and slid to the very end of the bed. Coulson pretended not to notice. "I promise you that we'll find out."

Jemma handed the gun to Coulson and stood next to Skye. "Skye can you tell me what you're feeling right now?"

"Angry," she whispered again.

"Why do you feel angry?"

Skye shrugged. "I don't know."

"Do you feel only angry at me or at Simmons too?" Coulson asked.

"Only you. Is it because of what Doctor Silensky did to me?"

Coulson and Jemma exchanged looks. "We don't know," Coulson finally answered. "We'd like to ask you some more questions if that's all right. We need to figure out what's wrong."

"Okay," Skye agreed. "But maybe you could move? I'm having a hard time resisting clobbering you."

Coulson's lips twisted into a crooked smile and her heart fluttered. Oh, joy, that feeling was back. He stood up and walked a few paces away. "Is that better?"

"A little bit."

Jemma sat down next to Skye, looking slightly afraid and she tried to smile to reassure the scientist. "When did these feelings to murder me start?" Coulson asked.

Skye couldn't help smiling wryly at the way he worded it. "I guess after you split up the team to protect me. No wait, actually it was before that. When you ordered everyone to keep me in sight at all times after we saw the doctor." She hurried on to try to explain it better. "I didn't want to strangle you or anything I was just mad at you...at everyone, but especially you...for putting me under lock down." She frowned. "I suppose that might not have anything to do with what I'm feeling now, but it just felt different from the other times I was mad at you. It's hard to explain."

Jemma nodded. "Whatever he injected her with may work slowly. Perhaps seeing Doctor Silensky again triggered something."

"You mean like she's on a timer?" Coulson said, frowning.

"Something like that."

Coulson looked deeply disturbed and Skye couldn't help agreeing with him. The idea that she was a ticking time bomb didn't settle well with her.

"We need to talk about the other feelings you've been having," Coulson added quietly, not quite meeting her eyes. Skye blushed and looked away, remembering how she had assaulted him again which lead to her being incarcerated in the panic room.

"I -" Skye swallowed and looked over at Jemma. The scientist smiled encouragingly and squeezed her hand. "I guess they never left after the doctor injected me with that serum."

"You mean you've been struggling with them all this time?" Coulson looked shocked. "You could have told me. We would have helped."

"I thought it was a crush," Skye muttered staring at her and Jemma's hands. "I thought that maybe the serum had made me aware that you were, you know, a man."

"Oh," Coulson suddenly looked uncomfortable and rubbed the back of his head.

"I figured it would go away in time," Skye laughed somewhat breathlessly. "I figured I needed to get laid, though we haven't had much time for that. You should seriously consider giving us much needed time off AC." She tried to sound teasing.

Since she was looking directly at him she saw a dark shadow cross his face before it became blank again. What had that been about? He smiled somewhat stiffly. "I'll take that under advisement."

"What about last night?" Jemma asked. "When you..." she tried to think of a way to phrase what she wanted to say.

Skye squirmed. "I don't know. I just felt an overwhelming urge to, you know." She turned to Coulson. "This is really embarrassing. Do you have to be here?"

"Would you rather I listen from upstairs?"

"I'd rather you not listen at all."

"We have to figure out what is happening with you," he explained patiently. "We also need to talk about that unnatural strength you have."

"What?" Skye asked confused.

"Don't you remember the first time?" Jemma asked. "Everyone had to hold you down while I injected you with a sedative."

"And just a few minutes ago you nearly strangled me to death and I couldn't get you off me," Coulson added.

"I didn't realize I had any extra strength," Skye said in puzzlement. "How come I didn't notice that?"

"Maybe you're not suppose to," Coulson speculated. "It could be that the serum does more than make you like or dislike me. It may also make you strong enough to do whatever Doctor Silensky wanted you to do while making you unaware that anything was wrong."

Skye frowned as she mulled over what he said. "Does that mean he wants me to kill you? Did you know him before we met him a year ago?"

"No, I've never seen him before so I don't know why he'd want you to kill me."

"It is possible that Coulson wasn't intended to be the victim," Jemma pointed out. "He may have wanted you to get close to someone else and it backfired since he was still in the process of experimenting with the serum when he injected you with it."

"How come my anger comes and goes?" Skye asked. "I no longer feel an urge to strangle you anymore."

"You don't feel it all the time?" Jemma asked frowning.

"What about the other feelings to be physical with me?" Coulson said.

Skye wondered how the hell he managed to say that with a straight face. "Um, that feeling never goes away except when I want to kill you of course." She could feel her face heating up again.

"I'm going to have to run some tests if that's all right with you, sir," Jemma said to Coulson.

"You already tested me several time," Skye pointed out. "How will this time be any different?"

"I don't know," the scientist admitted. "I may find something I didn't before."

"Do you think you have everything under control?" Coulson asked.

"I think so. I'll try to warn you if I get the urge to suck your face off or strangle you."

Coulson's lips twitched. "I'd appreciate that."


	7. Chapter 7

**Yeah! Another** **chapter done! Not much happens in this chap, but I promise that the next one will be more exciting.**

* * *

><p>Skye sat on the table in the lab while Jemma took a sample of her blood. "Where did Coulson go?"<p>

"I'm not sure," she answered, giving her a quick glance.

Skye smirked. "Don't worry, I'm not getting an overwhelming feeling to jump him again. All though he is an excellent kisser."

Jemma smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah, last night when we were in the lounge and I attacked him, he kissed me back. Of course, now I realize that was to distract me until he could get whatever that stuff was he injected me with." Skye sighed. "Still, it was nice."

"You know," Jemma said slowly. "It is possible that you do have genuine feelings for him. The serum may have sent you into a frenzy, but it is possible that once you became aware of him those feelings developed naturally."

Skye snorted.

"Well, it could be," Jemma said. "You should tell him."

"Yeah, I can just see it, We'll be kissing passionately one minute and then I'm stabbing him the next. No thanks."

"I meant when we get this sorted out."

"I'll think about it." _Not._

Jemma took her vile of blood and put a drop on a slide so she could look at it through a microscope. She stared into the microscope for several minutes, frowning.

"Something wrong?" Skye asked.

"I'm not sure. I'll have to analyze it." She stuck the rest of the vile of blood in a weird looking machine and closed the lid. She pressed a few buttons and the machine let out a low humming sound. She came back to stand next to Skye. "All right I would like to take a full body scan. Would you lay down there?" She pointed to the long table they used to scan items.

"Sure," Skye hopped down and climbed onto the table the scientist indicated, laying back. Jemma created a 3D scan of Skye's body and Skye sat up to get out of the way. "Do you see anything weird?"

"It will take some time to go through all the data," Jemma said.

"Ah, in other words keep quiet and don't bother you."

The scientist glanced up quickly. "I never meant -"

Skye chuckled. "I'm joking."

Jemma relaxed. "Oh."

"Anymore tests?"

"Yes, I need you to pee in this," Simmons handed her a plastic cup.

"Oh, joy. I was wondering when we would get to this part," Skye said dryly.

"Sorry," Jemma winced and picked up a medical kit and rummaged through it. "I also need to take a swab sample."

"A what?"

She pulled out a tube with a Q-Tip inside. Before Skye could ask what that was for, Jemma rushed over and pried open her mouth, dabbing the Q-Tip around both sides of her cheek for a moment and then withdrew it. "There," she said bubbly. "Now after you pee in that cup we'll be all set."

"Okay," Skye ran her tongue around her mouth, trying to get rid of the funny taste the cotton had left behind. "Be right back." She left the lab to go the bathroom and couldn't help keeping an eye out for Coulson. Her mouth tingled as she remembered the kiss.

Skye shook her head. _No! Keep it together!_ These mood swings were really starting to irritate her. She hoped Simmons could find the reason behind her peculiar behavior this time because going from in love to wanting to kill him was going to drive her nuts.

She pulled up short. Did she just think the word love in regards to Coulson? She shook her head again, this time more vigorously and forced herself to continue walking to the bathroom. She wasn't in love with him. It was a simple crush. Not even a crush since the feelings she had weren't even real.

Skye finished her business in the bathroom and headed back to the lab to surrender the plastic cup to Jemma. "Thank you!" the scientist said enthusiastically and went back to work.

"Anything I can do?" Skye asked.

"No, I've got everything pretty much covered. I'm waiting for all the data to be analyzed."

"How are you holding up?" Skye said. "Without Fitz, I mean? You two are like -"

"It's hard," Jemma admitted. "We haven't been apart this long since we met and its like I have lost my best friend."

"Well, don't worry. They'll be back before you know it."

Jemma smiled wistfully. "Yes, all the same..." she trailed off and Skye nodded, knowing exactly what she was thinking. It would be nice to see them all again, especially Ward. She didn't realize how much she missed his comforting presence until now and as much as May scared her, she missed the prickly woman too.

They sat in companionable silence until Coulson came into the lab looking grim. "What's wrong?" Skye asked, immediately sensing something was off.

"Just got a message from May," he said, frowning. "They're in trouble."

"Is Fitz -" Jemma started.

"I don't know," Coulson admitted. "The transmission I received was short and didn't go into a lot of detail. We need to get to them as quickly as possible, wheels up in five." He started to walk out when Skye reached out to stop him.

"Wait, who's going to fly the plane?"

"I will," Coulson gave her a slight smile.

"Do you even know how to fly a plane?" She asked skeptically.

"I took a few lessons."

"Exactly how many is a few?"

Coulson chuckled at that. "Don't worry I'll put it on autopilot once we get going." This time as he walked away, he nearly dragged Skye with him. She was embarrassed to discover that she still had a vice grip on his arm.

"Oh, sorry," she pulled her hand away.

He just smiled. "You two might want to buckle up," he called over his shoulder.

Skye turned around to see Jemma staring at her with a curious expression. "What?"

The scientist shook her head in puzzlement. "I thought I saw...never mind."

"What did you see?" Skye asked curiously.

"Nothing, it was just my imagination. We should take our seats." She hurried out of the lab into the cargo bay.

"Oh, no you are not getting off that easily," Skye muttered under her breath. She followed Simmons out and once they had strapped themselves in, she turned to her. "Okay, spill."

They could feel the plane moving beneath their feet. Jemma looked down like she was trying to collect her thoughts. "What were you thinking just now when you were talking to Coulson?"

Skye stared at her in puzzlement. "I was thinking we were going to die because he's driving the bus."

"Was that all?"

"Well, I was also embarrassed that I hadn't even realized I was holding on to him. Why do you ask?"

"Those were the only two emotions you felt?" Jemma prodded.

"Yeah," Skye answered slowly, trying to remember that far back.

Jemma's brow creased and Skye had enough of the evasiveness. "Okay, seriously. Tell me what I did!"

The scientist flinched at her raised voice. "You looked triumphant."

"Triumphant?" Skye stared at her. "Are you sure that's what you saw?" As far as she could remember she hadn't thought of anything worth being triumphant over.

"You definitely looked smug," Jemma mused and then she shook her head. "I was probably seeing things."

"You don't think this is another symptom do you?" Skye asked in alarm.

"No, definitely not," Jemma tried and failed to sound upbeat. "Like I said I was probably seeing things."

"You're a terrible liar," Skye muttered.

Jemma pretended to not hear and fiddled with her seatbelt. The moment they were safely in the air, she unbuckled herself and headed quickly for the lab. Skye stayed where she was wondering if she was going insane.


End file.
